Surgical probe

• US 20020169371A1
• Filed: 04/19/2002
• Published: 11/14/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Gilderdale, David J.
• Application Number:
  US10/126,862
• Publication Number:
  US 20020169371A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/373
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/285 Invasive instruments, e.g. catheters or biopsy needles, specially adapted for tracking, guiding or visualization by NMR
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/34084 implantable coils or coils being geometrically adaptable to the sample, e.g. flexible coils or coils comprising mutually movable parts

Abstract

A probe such as a biopsy needle uses the needle 5, 6 as one electrode of a two electrode device which receives MR signals, during an imaging operation, in order to track its path within a patient.

Claims

1. A surgical probe, the tip of which forms one electrode, which includes a second electrode spaced from the needle in use by the medium in which the probe is inserted to form a conductive loop for receiving magnetic resonance signals.

2. A surgical probe as claimed in claim 1, in which the second electrode is formed by a conducting layer separated from the surface of the probe by an insulating layer.

3. A surgical probe as claimed in claim 2, in which the tip projects beyond the conducting layer.

4. A surgical probe as claimed in claim 3, in which the tip projects beyond the conducting layer by a distance which is less than one fifth of a quarter wavelength at the magnetic resonance frequency.

5. A surgical probe as claimed in claim 4, in which the tip projects beyond the conducting layer by a distance which is less than one tenth of a quarter wavelength at the magnetic resonance frequency.

6. A surgical probe as claimed in claim 1, in which the second electrode is a pad for application to the skin of the patient in the vicinity of the location at which the needle is inserted.

7. A surgical probe as claimed in claim 1, in which the probe is a needle.

8. A surgical probe as claimed in claim 7, in which the needle is a biopsy needle.

9. A surgical probe as claimed in claim 1, in which the probe is also capable of transmitting for ablation purposes.